Turbine blades now spinning at DTE Energy's newest wind park, Michigan's largest

- Powers 54,000 homes with clean energy

- 90 percent of labor provided by Michigan workers

- Company's most cost-effective wind park to date

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Mar 08, 2019, 07:00 ET

DETROIT, March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy today announced that its Pine River wind park, located in Gratiot and Isabella counties, is operational, providing enough clean energy to power more than 54,000 homes. With 65 turbines, Pine River is the largest operating wind park in Michigan as well as DTE's most cost-effective and cost-efficient wind project to date.

The park will offset nearly 300,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually – the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking more than 63,000 cars off the road for a year* – and represents a significant step toward the company's goals of reducing carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050 and reaching 50 percent clean energy through renewables and energy efficiency by 2030.

"DTE was among the first energy companies in the nation to announce a broad sustainability initiative consistent with what scientists say is necessary to address climate change globally and do it in a way that maintains affordability and reliability for our customers," said Gerry Anderson, chairman and CEO, DTE Energy. "Bringing Pine River online is helping us meet the commitment we've made to our customers while contributing to the health of Michigan's economy. It is our next step in continuing the fundamental transformation of the way we generate power in Michigan, while maintaining our focus on reliability and affordability."

Since 2009, DTE has driven investments of more than $2.8 billion in renewable energy, and the company will invest an additional $2 billion in renewables over the next five years as it more than doubles its capacity in wind and solar. By 2022, DTE will generate enough energy from renewable resources to power more than 800,000 homes.

DTE wind projects provide more than clean energy for DTE customers – they also provide a stable source of income for landowners who have turbines on their property, jobs that help young people stay in the community, and tax revenue that can be used to support improvements in roads, schools, emergency services and other vital community needs. Greater Gratiot Development, Inc. reports that between 2012-2016, the county received more than $30 million in tax revenue from its wind parks.

Pine River Township Supervisor Kevin Beeson not only appreciates the economic benefits the new wind park is bringing to his community, he also recognizes the project's environmental benefits as a gift to future generations. "It's a clean way to make energy, and that's a nice legacy to leave behind," he said.

DTE will bring online more than 1,000 additional megawatts of wind and solar by 2022. DTE's renewable energy portfolio includes 14 wind parks and 31 solar arrays, all located in Michigan. To learn more about DTE's long-term carbon reduction goal, please visit Journeyto80.com.

Invenergy developed and constructed the project for DTE. The project supported 250 jobs during construction drawing from 22 different Michigan companies.

About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, renewable natural gas, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable and affordable. DTE is committed to being a force for good in the communities where it serves through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.

*Avoided emissions and equivalencies are based on Egrid 2017 non-baseload emissions factors by subregion and the Environmental Protection Agency equivalencies calculator at http://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator.

SOURCE DTE Energy